Rodriguez struck out five batters, walked two and scattered five hits. He induced nine groundball outs and threw 91 pitches to match his longest outing of the season.

While Rodriguez was mowing down Double-A Harrisburg, the Sea Dogs had little success against right-hander Palo Espino, who threw eight shutout innings. They didn't break the scoreless deadlock until Mike Miller led off the ninth inning with a home run off reliever Derek Self.

Rodriguez was out of the game by then and didn't factor in the decision. But Thursday was his latest strong start since the Red Sox acquired him from the Orioles at the Trade Deadline in exchange for Andrew Miller. In his first four starts with his new organization, Rodriguez has struck out 28 batters and allowed two runs on 18 hits and six walks in 24 1/3 innings.

Despite the trade, Rodriguez has spent the whole season in the Eastern League. He has made 20 starts between Bowie and Portland, going 5-7 with a 3.87 ERA. He has struck out 97 batters and walked 35 in 107 innings.

Teddy Cahill is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tedcahill. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.